Ping-Pong
/ˈpɪŋ ˌpɒŋ/noun
A game in which players use small paddles to hit a lightweight ball across a table divided by a net.
Did you know?Ping-Pong began as a trademarked commercial name in Britain around 1900, while “table tennis” later became the safer generic term after trademark disputes.
Etymological Timeline
Late 19th Century
English
ping-pong
“A playful sound-imitative expression representing two contrasting sharp knocks or tones.”
1890s
English
ping-pong
“Used in Britain as a name for an indoor adaptation of lawn tennis, likely evoking the ball’s repeated impacts.”
1900
English
Ping-Pong
“Registered and marketed as a commercial name for the table-tennis game and associated equipment.”
Early 20th Century
English
table tennis
“A descriptive generic term increasingly used alongside, and eventually instead of, the trademarked name.”
Modern English
English
ping-pong
“The sport commonly known formally as table tennis; also used figuratively for rapid back-and-forth exchange.”